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Month: December 2014

During my prayers, my mind started to wander, my thoughts turning to 2015, the New Year…..

365 days = 1 year = 1 complete journey of planet Earth around the Sun, a good few years ago, I learnt Kepler’s laws of Planetary Motion, but before my mind was completely attracted there, God drew my thoughts back to himself,

“See what I see?” He asked gently and closing my eyes as we were taught as little ones, I saw, in better than glorious Technicolour, our Solar System; the planets, the moons, asteroids, meteors, comets. I mused on the thousands of small bodies, bumping, colliding, like lost sheep … How quickly my thoughts were drawn and attracted by those lost sheep, but again the Lord drew my thoughts back to Himself.

“Pay attention,” he said. “Apart from those lost sheep, what do you see greatest in number?”

“Oh their Moons,” I replied, like a child given a big jar of sweets.

God chuckled. I heard that quite plainly.

“True,” the Celestial Architect said. “The number of those children of mine, for whom their Sun and God is heart centre is much smaller, than the number of those who circle around, celebrities, that’s what they call them, today.
But don’t you see that out of the planets only one supports green and growing things, only one has blue seas and life? Why do you suppose that is.”

“Ah,” I said anxious to be thought smart, “Unless you know otherwise, Lord, it’s because Earth is just the right distance from the Sun, and just the right size. Having just the one Moon might help though, not a lot of tidal turbulence causing too many conflicts.

“Hmm,” God said quietly, “Remember this, to follow Me is to orbit Me as True Sun, to set Me apart as your One, True Heart Centre, orbiting at the right distance is to fear God, (reverence in worship, rare these days), to be just the right size is to have true humility, remember that my Mercy follows you all the days if your life, I am your True, Constant friend, never leaving you or forsaking you.”

I cried a little, knowing that His words are true, and I share them with you my fellow planets on the same journey, if there is something that you can respond to, may the Lord bless your response, and if not then Bless you all the same, that is another thing I have heard Him say, always bless, never chide.

I haven’t much time to post, but thank the Lord, I do feel fine, and my life is full of many good things and I am grateful for every new day, even ones like today when rushing too and fro, up and down the hill was too say the least a little tiring. The placard with today’s headlines from a local newspaper was just standing there, minding its own business, outside the little shop. I found it just invited comment

Bad news?

I am afraid the real high cost of dying, is losing your life.

Good News!

Often overlooked, at this time of year when we are assailed on every side with costly, often unnecessary and unwanted luxury items, is this

ETERNAL life is a free gift.

Thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And love, peace, goodwill to all who are finding this present, earthly life difficult right now!

I had an Irish friend, Aileen, but she answered to Ellen, amongst other things. Ellen, lovely Ellen, was kind, homely, hospitable, and a terror to pastors. Every remembrance of her comes with a smile. Baptised and bought up as a Catholic she had avoided church like a plague for most of her life, she would’ve have loved the thought of these words being posted here, because Ellen believed in telling it, and did tell it like it was. Ellen’s sister in law was a staunch baptist and despite her best efforts, Ellen avoided her baptist church as well, until one day having turned 60 years old, she suddenly felt a tremendous conviction that she must go to church and at that church she heard the Pastor say, “You must be born again,” utterly convicted, Ellen was baptised, and as a born again Christian and staunch baptist, staunchly anti Rome and Catholicism.

In all things Ellen was fervent, she was vivacious, outgoing, and forthright in the way a true Irish woman is, and it wasn’t long, before she found the baptist way a bit too solemn and she discovered the small, Pentecostal hall, almost on her doorstep, from being overlooked, and regarded with a sniff, that little church became Ellen’s heaven. She loved everyone dearly and was dearly loved, but, and but is a big but here, Ellen always knew what the Lord was telling, and wanted the Pastor, the elders and everyone else to do. Problem was no one’s hearing was as sharp as Ellen’s … Consequently she was always sailing on stormy seas, but she never ran aground, Jesus the Captain of her soul, made sure of that. Fiercely determined, stubborn, when she made up her mind; a gentle word from the Lord would cause her to break down and weep.

This is a true story, a paragraph out of my memory book. Something had happened at the little chapel, Ellen didn’t like it, she stamped her foot and swore to the Lord, in her friend’s hearing, “No Lord, I won’t”

Ever done that?
Been so angry and worked up over some trifle, some word, put your foot down and sworn an oath?

The friend, with a reputation for quietness and meekness, held her peace, until some weeks later when Ellen asked her into her home to pray for her “foot” Yes the very same foot that had been stamped, apparently, the Doctor had diagnosed a rheumatoid flare up, on asking the question, the friend was told that the condition had developed the day following her temper.

“Maybe” the friend suggested, she should say “sorry” —-

Ellen, dear daughter of God, burst into tears and did just that. The pain went within the hour.

I don’t know why I should suddenly be thinking of Ellen, she was a good woman, but like most of us the gold in her character was mixed with other metals, mercurial temperament and iron clad stubbornness being two of them, and she was, perhaps not strangely often right when it came to Pastors .. She just couldn’t help ruffling feathers! Something that Old Testament Prophets were quite good at too.

I promised a fellow blogger that I would answer a few question about myself, and if she is reading this, I will do .. But somehow Ellen who sailed stormy waters to be near her Friend Jesus has been in my thoughts.

The picture is a collage of things around me, a picture of stormy Advent Seas, a candlestick, my bible, open at Isaiah ch. 2 verse 5, “let us walk in the light if the Lord” and a purple ribbon given to me last Sunday to remind me that the First Sunday of Advent is the beginning of the Church Year. Our hearts are often storm tossed, even the quietest of us experiences angry, disturbed thoughts from time to time, I know I do, and that I need the Lord to steer my ship, I need to come–about and pitch unwanted cargo overboard, I need the Light of Christ.

Whether you are sailing stormy seas, or peaceful ones, take the Light of Christ with you and you will journey safely